Which Tests?

[wakerider017]

Just setting up my first salt tank.

It's a 120 gallon & will start out as a FOWLR and transition to a full reef tank once it is established.

My question for you is what test should I be concerned with running right off the bat?

SG
Temp
Nitrite
Nitrate
Ammonia
Phosphate

Do I have to worry about testing for Ca, KH or Mag?


Thanks!

[thegrun]

You listed the ones you will need in the beginning. When you start to add stony corals, Ca, Alk and Mg will be needed.

[Infiltrator]

+1 on tests

[wakerider017]

You listed the ones you will need in the beginning. When you start to add stony corals, Ca, Alk and Mg will be needed.

Awesome. Sounds like I'm on the right track then!

Can anyone recommend which brands they prefer for each of the tests I will need? Hanna, Red Sea, Elos, Salifert, etc?

Each manufacturer doesn't seem to have a 'complete' product line so it looks like it will need to be mix and match.


I won't need any tests for SG, Temp or PH (I forget to mention I'm getting a PH probe with my APEX) since I already have my bases covered in those categories.



Thanks!

[snorvich]

You listed the ones you will need in the beginning. When you start to add stony corals, Ca, Alk and Mg will be needed.

Yes. I strongly recommend a good refractometer. It will be used frequently for many things.

[wakerider017]

Sybon vs premium aquatics for refractometer?

[thegrun]

I like the BRS refractometer. I've used the Salifert Test kits for the past few years but Elos are also very nice. Recently I tried the Red Sea Pro series of test and they seem to work well. The old Red Sea test kits were not good, but they seem to have stepped up big time in quality with the new pro series. API tests are generally less expensive and easy to use, but many of their tests cannot be read to the same accuracy as Salifert or Elos.